Various anti-theft devices have been proposed for use in public places; such as, restaurants and rest rooms, to prevent a person's personal belongings; such as, a coat or handbag, from being stolen. These devices usually include a fixed hook portion from which the personal belonging is hung, and a jaw movable from an open position to a closed position relative to the hook portion to secure the personal belonging to the hook portion. A key is usually required to unlock the movable jaw to allow it to move to the open position so that the personal belonging can be removed from the hook portion.
While these anti-theft devices have been satisfactory for their intended purpose, they have been characterized by certain disadvantages; such as, requiring a key to unlock the device which will remain locked if the owner of the personal belonging should happen to lose the key. Another disadvantage is the complexity of these anti-theft devices using many moving parts; thus requiring high maintenance to prevent the devices from becoming out-of-order.